Soo Photography Blog

North American Hairstyling Awards (NAHA) photoshoot

2008-04-27T23:10:00.000-07:00

North American Hairstylist Awards (NAHA), presented by the Professional Beauty Association, is the most prestigious hairstyling competition in North America. I was delighted to help Allan of Allan's Salon in Santa Clara to photograph Allan's entry in the Colorist Category in NAHA.

Trend Zoom Color Challenge, an international color competition invites colorists to interpret the Trend Zoom 2008 trend worlds—Rockmantic and Newstalgia—in a highly creative way and then have their interpretation professionally photographed. Goldwell Colorists can choose to enter one of three categories:

The Creative Colorist Category: For colorists who love working with Goldwell’s Topchic permanent color and/or Goldwell’s Colorance demi-permanent product.

The Elumen Colorist Category: For colorists who love to “illuminate hair” with Goldwell’s Elumen.

Partner Colorist Category: Colorists who work with Goldwell as a freelancer are invited to interpret the trends with a Goldwell color of their choice.

Allan picked the Rockmantic concept; Androgynous, harmonious color schemes created with contrasting light and dark cool tones, reborn from the Baroque romantic era, merged with a Rock and Roll style. Mysterious shades of graphic grays, rich purple, rose violets and pastel silver pearl blondes reflect the mood and textures of this romantic yet rebellious world.

Rockmantic is all about contrasts which are created by placing light and dark cool shades right next to each other. Expressive, extravagant shades - from violet to pink, light ivory and silvery gray up to a deep black - in this way, Rockmantic shows its charms between the extremes. (click on any image to expand).

Allan is quite the perfectionist. His work is immaculate but he is never happy with it, always striving for the next notch towards perfection.

- Michael Soo

Seeing what others can't - Palace of Fine Arts

2008-04-16T10:28:00.000-07:00

Lacee & Tejas love the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco. I mean, who doesn't? It's probably the most popular spot for engagement photography in Northern California. If they make $1 everytime a couple does an engagement shoot there...

I warned Lacee & Tejas that their favorite spot may be under construction but we figured that we'd take our chances. Our shoot began in downtown San Francisco.
We then moved into the grounds of the Palace of Fine Arts. I was right on the money. The entire structure was under construction with scaffolding wrapped around the architecture. Adding insult to injury, the building perimeter was surrounded by a 6' metal fence! Ugh!!

Undaunted by the turn of events, I had Lacee & Tejas climb the fence and took several amazing shots. The beauty of the Palace of Fine Arts will be revealed after the construction for a very long time to come. But the images of the Palace of Fine Arts under construction will never again be seen.

(click on the image on the left to see more)

- Michael Soo

Age and Images

2008-04-11T01:50:00.000-07:00

TPR, The Peninsula Regent in San Mateo, California is a magical place. It isn't a run-of-the-mill retirement community but an elegant continuing care retirement community that was thoughtfully designed to cater to its residents.

The security is tight but not overbearing. The automatic doors are wonderful for the residents and myself whilst I push my photo gear past them.

We were brought on board to photograph commercial lifestyle portraitures of the residents for ViewPoint, a newsletter article for the residents and probably the TPR's potential clients.

Kay Harris, a talented freelance graphic designer was with me. Kay worked with TPR for a while now and knows most of the staff of the TPR. She would design and layout the newsletter itself, inlaid with my photographs.

The residents walk around with smiles attached to their faces. They look like they are on vacation 24/7. It then became clear to me that TPR found the perfect concoction of care, love and talents that seem to set the lovely folks here at their ultimate ease. I was astounded by how caring and geniune the staffs were. It is as if they were born to help everyone around them. The Assistant Director, Michelle, would constantly ensure our comfort while we were in the facility. Cookies, drinks, lunch, dessert were pushed into my hands while I was there.

I met Ms Greene, a resident swim instructor, shot by the pool. Dr Moore, a handsome doctor, photographed in his clinic.

Mr Scherba of Scherba Autos, was sitting on a high-back italian sofa. He smiled at me and told me the story of his military service in the Philipines. He did not receive a lifestyle portrait from me. Instead, I chose to showcase his personality, style and his charm in a photograph. He held his chin while he talk, gleaming on his finger, a modest ring that his mother gave him, back in 1946.

- Michael Soo

On stage at the Intel Developer Forum in Shanghai

2008-04-06T14:35:00.000-07:00

I was flabbergasted when I told someone that I was going to Shanghai and was returned with the question, "What is Shanghai?" So, I figured I'll have to deal with my own standards & ideals and move on to explain about Shanghai.

The reason I went to Shanghai, really though is to lead a photography project within Refocus Imaging and Intel's CTO, Justin Rattner's keynote speech in the Intel Developer Forum in Shanghai. Justin, unfortunately was too sick to make it to the conference and had Vice President, Andrew Chien replace him.

The whole keynote was recorded with the actual slides in the IDF's website (Time: 36m50s to 46m:00s) but the part that we really care about is here below, in a YouTube video.

Conferences such as the IDF takes months in advanced of preparation for a 1-2 days event. My part in the photography within the keynote was a mere 1-2 minutes but took over one week in preparations. Preparations include project managing, such as hiring the models, makeup artists and wardrobe selections. Local photography lighting gear rentals have to be managed, as well as, photography work in Shanghai and surrounding city, in HangZhou (for the slideshow to showcase the technology). I also had to ensure multiple backups of workflow in case of failures, etc.

We had to hire assistants, compose several dry-runs, rehearsals, on-site problem solving photography issues (such as the issues of lighting in the impossibly difficult lighting conditions within the huge conference hall.

Whatever simplicity you see in the show was backed up by layers of complexity of preparation in the background.

We got extremely creative in the lighting department. For the studio photography enthutiasts out there, I was shooting at F4.0 & ISO 1600 with a Profoto D4 2400 at near max as the main!!!!!!! If that doesn't send fear up your spine, I don't know what will. Renting more lighting units will overdrive the budget of the client. Profoto, broncolor and high end lighting gears are 4X more expensive to rent in China than in the United States.

Incompatibility in voltage, weight of equipment through air travel, extension cords, all have to be placed into consideration. No, it was no walk in the park. I had to lug 4 large and heavy suitcases across the Pacific Ocean for a mere 2 minutes of airtime. And that's on top of renting 4 more suitcases of lighting gear.

Who says Commercial Photography is easy?

A few fun facts about Shanghai:

Shanghai is the most expensive China city to live in.
One of the world's tallest building resides in Shanghai.
The mass rapid transit here is very well connected. They have
a whooping 17 lines. Taxis are in abundance. The starting price
is 11RMB, which is about USD$1.50
The Shangri-la hotel employs a cute girl to knock on your door for morning calls instead of a phone call. I specifically asked for a phone call the 2nd day after running around in my underwear when a door knock came on my 1st day's call.
Shanghainese dialect are spoken alongside Mandarin in Shanghai.
You can custom tailor a full 2-3 piece business suit in China for
US$50 and a wonderfully customed tailored shirt for US$15. Mind you,
the material used is better than those I've seen in some high end stores
at Nordstrom.

- Michael Soo

Lacrosse Stealth game

2008-03-22T17:30:00.000-07:00

My very first Lacrosse Stealth game in the San Jose Arena with the men of BNI of Cupertino. It was a very bonding experience. Thanks to David Schick of De Anza Appliance for organizing it. I had a blast!!

- Michael Soo

Fashion, Lifestyle, Beauty, Glamour Photography!

2008-03-20T23:07:00.000-07:00

I'm extremely pleased to announce the official launch of the website, Capture the Vogue that specializes in photography for fashion, lifestyle, beauty and glamour! It is a website is on my to-do list for many months now.

Some spots of time this past week has allowed me to put this website and its portfolio movies into action.

Check it out!

- Michael Soo

Being a model is SOO glamorous

2008-03-02T00:15:00.000-08:00

(click to see large image)

When we mention the word, "models", the first thought that creeps into our heads are pictures of high fashion models that get paid in the millions, flying private jets, drinking champagne, scooping caviar with quaint mother of pearl spoons.

While putting together the 2008 Model Portfolio Photography package for Traci Halvorson Model Management in San Jose, I had an epiphany. Models have gotten the short end of the stick in this tough and competitive business. It's a job that requires a lot of concentration, hard work, patience, the ability to laugh on-demand and hold poses for long period of time. On top of ALL that, a strong self-esteem to take rejection well and often!

Most casting calls are packed with models, at times, 10-20 of them, vying for the same job. This is especially true when there's a big commercial gig in town. You'll notice all the modeling agencies jumping into the fray! Nobody will get lucky everytime either. It's definitely not the most glamorous work that is being portrayed in the movies.

In fact, in 2006, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the modeling profession in general is ranked #8 in the list of Top 10 Worst Jobs in America! Models made a median hourly wage of $11.22, a bit less than twice the minimum wage of $5.85! Most models needed a second source of income.

Being a model isn't all about money though. It's a business that can provide opportunities to meet a large variety of people, directors, photographers, have fun, earn a living and gain glory while you're at it! Yes, if you are good at it, join a great agency, create an excellent portfolio and you can definitely make a really good living.

It's really about running a business. Like every business, it requires the model to keep a constant care about the core assets of the business. In this case, themselves! Models need to take care of every aspect of their lives, their skin, look, attire, etc. to maintain a marketable image. Photo shoots can be fun but they can get tiring, long and difficult at times.

To start your work as a model, you need a professional modeling portfolio and a comp card. Contrary to popular beliefs, joining a modeling agency is FREE! Creating a viable modeling portfolio isn't. :-(

Modeling portfolio is the most important expenditure you will make in the business of becoming a model. It is your marketing agent and your potential meter. It gives the idea to the agency and potential clients that you have the ability to portray the characters necessary for their advertising campaign.

The comp card or zed card that you have printed as your portfolio will always be seen by an agency or client before you get seen.

Those images are your MAIN and ONLY marketing tool that you employ. You will want to impress agencies and potential clients with images that demonstrates your looks and personality. Technology companies in the neighborhood seems to have a love affair with images that has an exact match of what they are looking for. That nurse in a lab coat, for example. When they find a match, they want that model who has that ability to portray their advertising campaign.

Bear in mind that LESS is MORE. You do not win hearts or get picked just because you have more images. However, your images need to be professional, visually inspiring and most importantly, produce an eye popping WOW Factor that enhance your strength, downplay your weaknesses and showcase your personalities.

Interested? Fly us an email.

- Michael Soo

Refocus Imaging - Camera Features

2008-02-28T05:09:00.000-08:00

As the megapixels of current fleet of cameras grow beyond the threshold of lenses' resolving capability, camera manufacturers are racing to find new features and technologies that can continue to help sell their next generation cameras.

(click INSIDE the image to focus)

Refocus Imaging, Inc. seems to provide just that. One of the capabilities that their technology allows an image to be refocused in post-capture. What that means is a focus-like ability for a blurry image (due to bad focus) to be adjusted or refocused to be sharp again. Here's a recent article about their technology, released in CNET News.com

(click INSIDE the image to focus)

That would mean that a professional wedding photographer will no longer need to take too much of his time to find the right focus when capturing the moment; a macro photographer will now find solace in getting an ultra-deep, depth-of-field in his/her images something extremely difficult with the current state of the technology.

What their website did not mention (as of this writing) is the added ability to tilt and shift the image in post-capture! This feature has only been available to ultra expensive camera and lenses. It also can only be done during capture. After capture? Yeah, it's possible but painstakingly difficult, done in Photoshop.

This technology allows a variety of applications for the consumers; such as making it easier and more convenient to take everyday pictures with perfect focus. In addition, when it finds its way into the hands of scientists, it will have a big impact on astrology imaging specialists, medical imaging, etc.

Using the technology was as easy as picking up a regular camera and shooting. I had Refocus Imaging crew with me when I was photographing three models in the last blooming days in the fields of gold. The results were viewed almost instantaneously on the laptop.

The technology is still under development, and Refocus Imaging's success will be an improvement for the whole imaging community. I look forward to be using this technology in the near future.

- Michael Soo

BNI - Business Builder

2008-02-21T12:54:00.000-08:00

Here's the Business Networking International group that I'm a part of, the Business Builder Chapter in Cupertino. We meet *cough* at the wee dawn hours every Thursday in BJ's Brewery. We are honor to have Mayor Dolly Sandoval join our meeting, this morning, along with Trey McAlister, a phenomenal trainer from the Referral Institute of SFBay who showed us a snippet of the GEMS qualities.

"Why are you not in the picture?" you ask. I had to focus my energy to make everyone else look good, that's why. On top of that, I had to balance myself atop this shaky table that taunts to overthrow my authority.

- Michael Soo

Soo Photography T-shirts

2008-02-20T01:01:00.000-08:00

We've always given out really cool embroidered long sleeve polo shirts to our clients. Yes, baseball caps too. They are very well made and they look cool. However, we have never had any women cut t-shirts.

This trip back to Malaysia changed everything. We ordered about 80 ladies cut t-shirts in white and in black. We also got beautifully embroidered V-neck t-shirts for folks with thicker neck, like myself. Here's Lysandra wearing one and it fitted her perfectly!! ;-)

- Michael Soo

A chef's portrait

2008-02-18T23:08:00.001-08:00

This is a quick portrait session I did with Samurai Cooking's Chef Yoshi before I left for China, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.

Speaking of Asia, the economy boom in Asia is phenomenal to watch. Technological advances in Singapore are, for the most part, more advanced, compared to the United States and other parts of the world.

I stand in awe watching 3G and pre-4G cellphones used openly in the marketplace; ERP systems used on highways collecting tolls (cars need not stop to pay tolls); smartcards used throughout the country on everyday payments of parking, tolls, etc.; traffic congestion eliminated via careful planning of roadways and highways; major highways and public mass transits being built in months instead of decades (literary).

- Michael Soo

Fields of Gold

2008-01-19T07:46:00.000-08:00

A good landscape photographer needs to excel in a variety set of skills. He/She needs to be a pre-visualizer and a person who truly understands lighting, composition and skilled in Photoshop. On top of that, knowledge on meteorology, topography and copious amount of patience play a big deal. It is the former set of skills that scored me great shots in landscape but my type-A personality prevented my photographs from rising into the stratosphere work of geniuses (the likes of Ansel Adams).

However, I do understand the basic requirements. I have shot my share of great landscape throughout the world, from the luscious rain forest and great ruins of Angkor Wat in Cambodia; to the Antelope Canyon in Arizona; to the 3000 year old ancient Bristlecone forest in the White Mountains.

My experience with landscape photography allowed me to utilize some of my skills in that arena to be applied to the arena of modeling photography. Case in point is my recent modeling portfolio shoot with Katie Sue and Madeline of Look Modeling Agency. The shoot was fraught with disasters back in December with two cancellations due to family emergencies with the crew. "Third time is a charm," I said. And it was. Christal Saville helped with both hair and makeup. She's quite the multi-talented whiz, helped tremendously with picking the wardrobe as well.

After finishing up with the indoor studio shots, we adjourned to a field of yellow wild flowers, a location I selected specifically for this shoot. It is truly about timing and planning. These fields of golden flowers do not last very long, about a week or two at most each year. So, to catch them on full bloom is quite an amazing sight to behold.

Capturing such a large field of flowers without diverting the attention of the images from the model is a key compositional skill that is needed. The point to remember is that this is a model shoot. The subjects are the model and the beautiful field is only secondary that compliments the subjects.

Using elements such as those that shows the size of the fields (using the horizon line and blue sky), color matching (dress colors to match the flowers), knowing when the sun will set (timing for the best lighting), how to use the shadow of objects in the vicinity, will all help to craft the final art form. Rapport with the models to contribute towards great expressions will pay big dividends as well.

So, as you can see, photography isn't just a single point of mastering one or two skills but rather about gaining proficiency in a multitude of skills. These skills range from soft (people) to technical, and together create a work of art that elevates a photographer from someone who merely records an event to an artist that can create masterpieces.

- Michael Soo

Commercial Photography Presentation launched

2008-01-07T10:45:00.000-08:00

Our commercial photography presentation, has been officially launched alongside our website redesign, SooPhotography.Com !!!

This is great news as we have been working diligently on the presentation as well as our new website for a while now. Our fashion/lifestyle/beauty/glamour website is still under construction but will be up shortly as well. Stay tuned!!

Please sit back and be inspired. Place us into your marketing toolbox.

The Perfect Gift

2007-12-24T19:12:00.000-08:00

The snow of change floats over me
like a scrim of dressed white breeze.
Dancing in the air, nuance in grace
wrapping my soul in a tight embrace.
Strolling and crunching on fresh snow powder
upon an old shop of magick, its candles flicker.

I pin my nose onto the cold window
in hopes to find the perfect gift bestow.
Naught just of plain games nor of large monies
but of a simple writing utensil, my son fancies.
Stepping inside the myth, an old man bellows
none other but the red suited, bearded fellow.

"A thousand miles and more, hast thou travelled
searching a majestic wonder that thou wish acquire."
"'Tis naught of magical pencil that thou require
but of a wielder of artistic marvel that thou already acquired."

Author: Michael Soo
Date: December 24th, 2007

(Image photographed a week ago at The Vault)

Lifestyle photography and how it markets

2007-12-07T00:50:00.000-08:00

San Francisco Bay Area is one of the city that is saturated with demands for lifestyle work (as oppose to Los Angeles or New York that draws demands on fashion)

So, what exactly is lifestyle?

It really is one of those variable word that means something entirely different to everyone you inquire. Some will affirm that it's about the softness of the images. Some claim a peek of the environment where the shot took place. Others note that it's the matter of less makeup, real-world scenario played out, a soft blend of photojournalism and commercial. Yet more will point that it's displaying people doing their thing.

It really is all of the above!

Lifestyle images helps the advertiser with a few aspect of their marketing:

It provides the setting, ambience and styling of the product & services.
Gives a snippet of the demographic of the users (oh, that teenage cute girl looks just my age and she is using the sexy looking iPod, I bet it'll look cool on me too)
Creates an attitude and continuity in marketing. Nike, for example would always showcase top athletes in peak action. (they associate their products to provide the last 1% of excellence, in this fragile world of diminishing returns)
Demonstrates the usage, how it fits, its scale or size.
Showcases the benefits and features of the product in the real world.
Differentiate the product in an increasingly competitive marketplace.

Lifestyle photos excel when the images are placed on catalogs that are used as a support vehicle to upscale retails (i.e. Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom).

There are potential pitfalls, however.

The product in a lifestyle photograph can disappear from view as the image gets busier. Some of the interesting props in the image can steal the attention away from the product.
If the product is new and has yet to penetrate the market, you may be better off photographing a large image of the product instead of lifestyle.
Lifestyle shoots can cost more and require a bit of planning compared to a straight product shoot.

Many catalogs use a balanced mix of product and lifestyle shots to retain a fashionable look to their catalogs. Whichever type of photography that is used should support the brand and is consistent with the marketing message.

- Michael Soo

2008 Warrior Girls Swimsuit Calendar Unveiled

2007-11-30T16:44:00.000-08:00

The 2008 Warrior Girls Swimsuit Calendar was unveiled last night at the Oakland Coliseum with thousands of fans watching the huge 20+ feet TV atop the court and plasma TV all over the entire coliseum. What was it playing?

Oh boy, this footage below played, over... and over... and over... again. Even a burly security guard walked to me to shook my hand like he knew me since I was a little boy. LOL. T'was quite an interesting... rather, exciting time.

The management team did an amazing job showcasing the calendar. The line to purchase a calendar, to be signed by the cheerleaders were.... extremely long. The poor celebrity girls must have signed hundreds of calendars in the first 30 mins alone. Hey, anything for the fans!

View the high resolution video (38 MB) of the shoot.

Video is copyright © 2007 Golden State Warriors. All Rights Reserved.

Embarrassed to say, this is the first NBA game that I've been to. It's quite an eye opener to breathe in the energy of the fans and learning the etiquette. The Warriors did amazing that night, defeating the Rockets 113-94, with Baron Davis taming Yao Ming utilizing skills over physique. GO WARRIORS!!!

Check out the imagery in my gallery. Hey, you may even find some hidden jewels, i.e. images that are not in the calendar, a la Photographer's Cut! ;-)

The 2008 Warrior Girl Swimsuit Calendar is now available!!
Get yours today online at warriorsteamstore.com.

- Michael Soo

Lifestyle & Jewelry Photography

2007-11-20T23:24:00.000-08:00

So, I got a bit bored of shooting straight product shots this week. Although they are pretty, nothing conveys the feeling of "if I buy that diamond ring, I'll look as gorgeous as the model in the poster" better than a lifestyle photography of model(s) wearing or using the product in an ad campaign.

This genre of commercial photography takes a lot of work and can cost a bit more. Think about it. Instead of only hiring just a product photographer and his/her assistant; you'll be paying a crew of talents that range from great model(s), a makeup artist, a hair stylist, photography assistants, coordinators, security guards, location rentals, equipment rentals, etc, a la Annie Leibovitz le grandeur style. And of course, don't forget about the knowledgeable photographer who needs to project manage this team of artistic and talented players in the studio or on location.

It's no wonder that only the large jewelry companies are the only ones that can afford the types of ad campaigns that slap enticing images into several pages of popular magazines. These larger scale expenses can chew into the profit margins of large corporations with a tight budget. For the smaller guys, these types of campaigns are near unreachable.

I don't think it needs to stay that way. Amazing lifestyle imagery with products can be achieved without breaking the bank.

So, how can we increase efficiency in a photoshoot? Here are some suggestions.

Substitute some of the less important roles with freelance models. Your photographer has probably worked with plenty that they think have high potential. Ask him/her for suggestions! Do note that, a risk involved is the ability of how the model to performs. Professional models are a bit more in-tuned with their poses, look and style that will match your creative needs.
How about getting a good photographer who has the know-how in lighting and can work his/her own lights without hiring 5-10 assistants that he/she can bark out orders to. Yes, of course, project size varies and there are times where a large crew is necessary. What I'm merely recommending is to increase productivity without creating waste or cutting corners.
A photographer who owns his/her lighting equipment means that he/she won't have to rent them and that can be a great cost savings too! Equipment rentals can run from hundreds to thousands of dollars!
Also, getting a good coordinator to manage the time is absolutely critical and can save you money overall. Bottlenecks in production can halt the entire process and increase cost!

On another note, last week was an amazing week. I am proud to say that my photographs (both comp cards and beauty shots) help propel two more fantastic models to get recognized and interviewed by huge international status agencies; i.e. Ford Models and Marla Dell. These are the agencies that supply models to ads and campaigns such as Elizabeth Arden, Cosmopolitan, Glamour magazines and Abercrombie catalogs.

Suffice to say, there are phenomenal opportunities that can open up to them and I'm truly happy to be a big part of this turning point of their lives and careers!

- Michael Soo

NBC 11 - Golden State Warrior Cheerleaders 2008 Swimsuit Calendar

2007-11-12T01:16:00.000-08:00

We're featured in NBC 11 sports news last night; in the Golden State Warrior Girls 2008 Swimsuit Calendar photoshoot.

They spelt my name as Michael Su instead of Michael Soo. I fixed the video using Photoshop Extended. Amazingly, Photoshop now deals with video as well as stills! ;-)

View the video in NBC 11 site or View the high resolution video (17 MB).

The thing is, this's quite a bit more than just lighting. There are lots of behind-the-scenes that require great teamwork. We have a phenomenal team that made this photoshoot as smooth as silk. I want to take the opportunity to thank the 2nd photographer Paul Ferradas, photography assistants James Wilson, Ron Crain & Nancy Crain, the amazing makeup artists Janice Daoud and Karolin Sharin, hair stylists from Christopher Michaels, videographers, coordinator Alicia, the coach Susan, executives in WG, Kyle & Travis for making this all happen. Of course, the gorgeous cheerleaders themselves. ;) The final key famly to thank are Jamal, Ranna & family for letting us use their phenomenal residence in Los Gatos. I apologize if I missed out anyone. THANK YOU!!!

After the official unveiling of the 2008 Swimsuit Calendar (which is slated to happen in a few weeks), the images will appear in my portfolio, blog and eMagazine.

Michael Soo
The Official Photographer for the NBA Golden State Warriors Cheerleaders

The whole is more than the sum of its parts

2007-11-02T01:20:00.000-07:00

Many a times, we use a single image to sell a product or to show beauty. For whatever purpose that image portrays, it needs to convey its story. That one image will also need to stand on its own unadulterated territory, emitting glory and charm to seduce its audience. However, like a fragile twig, that single image is an uninsurable agent that can't please the world.

In comes the collective. You have most definitely seen them. They are a collection of artifacts in a museum like the King Tut's tomb or an art gallery displaying the sum of the work from a single artist.

You certainly may or may not get Wow-ed by one of the pieces. However, the collection of coherently simple work can conglomerate to become a powerful set of art that ascend your mind to new heights.

The trick to successfully use a collection of images is actually to avoid the ultimate pitfall of treating each image as a single piece.

Am I confusing you? Think the classic example of a football team where the coach would kick a great player off the team due to his/her inability to work as part of the team. It's all about teamwork.

Suppose you have a series of 10 beautiful photographs you took in Yosemite. All eight of them looks fabulous in black & white while two, look resplendent in color. By submitting to the temptation of processing 8 into B&W and 2 into color, you have essentially destroyed the series or collection. Now, each piece will have to stand on their own.

Do note that the application of this knowledge isn't solely on art but on marketing, branding and even engineering (consistency and change management)!

- Michael Soo

Trash the Dress with a Wedding Photographer

2007-10-29T01:52:00.000-07:00

Your flowers have died. The cake has been consumed. All the alcohol bottles, emptied. You are left with hundreds, if not, thousands of dollars worth of fabric and lace.

What to do with your used wedding dress?

That has been the ultimate question for brides for decades! Some decide to donate it to a charity. Some go the eBay route. Others pack it away in hopes that their daughter will one day wear it, although you know your daughter will politely decline as she secretly cringes. Why not take that dress out before it begins its asphyxiation process in its bag. And then, have some fun with it?

So, there you have it, the fine art of trashing the wedding dress. I have shot high fashion, glamour and have taught a large variety of photography and photoshop workshops but this one, is by far the funnest photoshoot.

Download and view the HD version. (30 MB)

All the images can be found in the Trash the Dress Gallery.

- MS

一山還有一山高 - There'll always be someone better

2007-10-24T17:58:00.000-07:00

一山還有一山高，强中自有强中手。is a Chinese proverb that my dad would preach to me over and over again throughout my childhood. The direct translation speaks of mountains that will always be dwarved by taller mountains. No matter how strong, smart or how successful you are, there will always be someone stronger, smarter or more successful.

The lesson here, really, is about humility. It's about how we should never let material success overwhelm our ability to think and to improve. The idea of success is not the ability to climb to the top. Rather, it is about getting there and staying there.

While I'm not trying to teach philosophy here, it sprouted from being around really tall folks in the NBA team, cheerleaders, tall models and basketball players (not so much the latter) that I've been shooting this past weekend. Here, Alicia is the coordinator of the Golden State Warriors. She is a whooping 6' 6" in height and boy, I've never felt shorter in my life standing next to her.

However, when it comes to creating an amazing portfolio for her, I always have a chin-high, stand tall attitude, for I know what was needed to be done. Here's Alicia on the left, during the golden hour where the sun and my bare bulb strobes shines upon her eyes, bringing out much beauty and colors in her eyes that entices the hearts.

This brings me to my new company slogan, Touch the heart, via the eyes. In this case, it works both ways, the eyes of the model and/or the eyes of the viewers.

- MS

Kid's Comp Card, cropping one's age, Atherton, California

2007-10-20T00:36:00.000-07:00

Most people I talked to would not believe me that a single photograph, cropped just slightly differently can make a person look younger or older.

Case in point, Mittie of Atherton, a beautiful 10 year old girl with hair that glows gold in sun and a with a charm that will turn the saddest frown to laughter.

Mittie's modeling energy level easily surpass most hardened 20 year old models that I have worked with. At 10 years old, I never imagined her to work in front of my camera for 6 straight hours with few mini 10 minutes breaks in between, while I tweak the lights or change the set. And even then, she would be slipping from one set of clothings to the next. Most kids would have lost interest after an hour or two.

In the 6 hours, we shot in over 10 sets. That's quite unheard of in this industry. Most modeling portfolio shoot of this proportion usually takes longer. One set per hour is the norm. We managed to shoot at light speed (pun intended) due to a phenomenal collaborative effort between Rex (dad), Charlene (mom) and myself.

Rex created a list of possible shotlist that would put most photographers' comp card planning to shame. Charlene was the hair stylist and coordinator extraordinaire. She put her possible combination of clothes together before I got there.

The most important shot has to be taken care of first. It's the headshot, shown right above. Mittie looks young, innocent and cute! Perfect headshot for Art Directors looking for young models to sell Barbie dolls, fashion wear for little girls and what not.

Now, look at this new crop from the same shoot. No lights were moved and neither was the model moved from her spot. Removing her child bearing look by cropping off the hair band, her straight styled hair, her cropped look now focuses on her eyes and lips. Her neck lengthened and somehow, her face now ages to a maturity level that matches a junior high school girl. Her ability to hold a serious look and to follow posing instructions is definitely a boon.

She has now opened her look to two different age audience and market! How can she use that to her advantage? ;-) Mittie's comp card can now be customized like how one would customized a résumé for the specific company she applies into. Go Mittie!

- MS

Home Depot, my prop shop

2007-10-13T01:38:00.000-07:00

My latest editorial article for Popular Photography & Imaging, the largest photography magazine in the world, involves scouting out props in Home Depot and taking pictures of them.

The article was just published in the November 2007 issue of Popular Photography magazine worldwide. I took a total of 6-12 images. There isn't enough room for all of them and hence, only a handful got published.

Here, I will take you behind the scenes and show you some images that was not published as well as, in one case, what the props really look like before they were lighted!

Before you venture further, please cllick on the images above and to the left to read the article. They will give you a fundamental basis of the story, which I will not get into here, in my blog. Well, what are we waiting for, let the fun begin!!!

The image of the tiled flower was shot in natural lighting, to showcase what the props look like.

The idea is to use only ONE light source to make the image stand out like no other.

The tiles are purchased from the tiles department and it has an imagery of the same flower shown. So, the match of the tile and flower is uncanny. I previsualized this image before scurrying away to craft it.

The image on the left, also taken in natural light doesn't seem to show off anything other than these highly expensive paint chips, available in the paint department. Ok, they are free and if you can get as many as you like but please do try to save some for the next Home Depot customer.

The beauty and secret of this shot is the idea of utilizing light to bounce off the white backing of these paint chips to create the glow you see in the image (click on the left image to see the final photograph). To top it off, the paint chip really had the name, "Fireglow".

This was possibly, one of my best shot of the day, and it took me all of 10 minutes to previsualize, prep, light and shoot! 8 minutes were spent prepping the chips.

The next two images are motion triggered. The image on the right, Spiraled Splash is a screw splashing into orange soda. My hands got all orangy looking after an hour of dipping into the soda. I can't believe I used to love drinking these and how my kidney must have worked overtime to cleanse the color out. Yuck!

Now, these splash images are the harder images to create as it's really by chance, despite having the advantage of an IR trigger. If you don't have an IR trigger, you'll most definitely be left frustrated.

And here's the cliche shot of strawberry splashing into milk. I ran through a nice case of strawberry before getting it the way I wanted. It was fun. My lens hood had a bad case of pox on it after the whole shoot was completed. Also, another set of PIA setups to shoot due to how random the images may turn out.

Last, but not least is the image below, also unpublished. I named it, Favourite Son. Yeah yea, it's the Royal British spelling of favorite. :)

- MS

My Billboard in Stanford Shopping Center

2007-10-12T22:24:00.000-07:00

The picture I shot for La Baguette finally showed up as a huge 10 feet x 5 feet billboard in the walkway of Stanford Shopping Center.

I was taking picture of this billboard when the Stanford security started questioning my intentions of taking the secret layout of the shopping center. They were then on their radio for a while looking really serious. I think they called Homeland Security or the Director in Pentagon to check my name against their list of top 100 most dangerous terrorists.

I don't think it'll ever get old to see my work in magazines and on the walls of a super high end shopping center.

- MS

Unplanned Fashion Photography in San Francisco

2007-10-03T16:32:00.000-07:00

I had a spontaneous fashion photography photoshoot in de Young Museum this past Monday (during a work week, yeah baby!). Nope, I did not plan where I was shooting nor what exact time the shoot should begin.

For those of you who knew me well since 10+ years ago, you must be gasping with horror. No planning??? Imagine the horror of Michael Soo doing something without planning for it thoroughly.

"My name is Michael Soo and I was an avid planner. An obsessive compulsive I_got_hit_this_spot_by_2pm and_do_that_at_3pm planner." I used to strive to be impeccable in my timing and mind you, my timing was accurate to the minute and I was the perfect manager in corporate America. But that has changed over the course of the last 10 years. I won't be going through my life story here but as a libra, I have been moving into my subconcious center to find that balance.

Sarah Abramson was my guinea pig...I mean beautiful model. She was amazing in every way. Very responsive in email, phone calls and texting; professional, and of course, tall and gorgeous. I gave her some directions on the type of poses I was looking for and she snapped into them like peas into their pods. I just wished we had time to run through more looks before the sun went down but that's nothing I can or want to control. Erica Carr did the makeup and a bit of hair work. I really like her positive attitude, very easy going and does wonderfully clean makeup work that made my job easier in post.

Timing was unpredictable. We started late, Sarah lost her way. She was probably making a U-turn from the Mexico border. ;-) Erica, on the other hand, didn't even know where we were meeting. The sun droop down the horizon fast. Going back 10 years, I woulda flipped. LOL.

But no! I did not even flinch! No brah. I was relaxed with my grande soy latte in hand, planning my week. It's all good. ;)

That said, the past 5 years have been a wildest ride that few has the stomach to swing through.

The Good

I was promoted twice in Sun Microsystems, Inc.

I was awarded the highest possible title in the photography world, Photographer of the Year 2005 by the largest photography magazine in the world.

I pulled together a local photography forum that has grew from a total of 10-20 members to what now appears to one of the largest photography forum in California.

I started Soo Photography, specializing in wedding photography, commercial photography, food photography and modeling photography.

Today, I found myself standing at a crossroad. I no longer have the full support of full-time engineering jobs in large corporations, i.e. America Online, Sun Microsystems, amongst them. What will the future hold? I wish I knew. Then again, if I did, it would suck the fun out of it and I'd be left a dull man.

Bring it on!!!

- Michael Soo